The present invention relates to a game device, a region expansion and contraction method for a game, a game program and an information storage medium, and particularly relates to technology for expanding or contracting various regions involved in a game with a simple operation.
Various games have been proposed where if a player sets any region in a game space, game progress related to that region is controlled. For example, in an urban development simulation game, if a player sets a construction region in a game space, buildings etc. are constructed in that region.
In this type of game, when a region is set on a game screen, a method can initially be considered where the width and shape of setting regions are predetermined, and only an arbitrary few of these regions are arranged at arbitrary positions on the game screen (game field). A method of arbitrarily determining the width, shape and position of setting regions using a pointing device such as a mouse can also be considered.
However, with the first of these two methods, the setting regions themselves can not be expanded or contracted because the width and shape of the setting regions are determined in advance and each region is handled separately. This means that if the width, shape and position are arbitrarily determined by a player, there is a problem that it is not possible to implement a game where a story unfolds according to those regions.
Also, with the second of these two methods, because a pointing device such as a mouse is required, there is a problem that it is not suitable for a game device with poor operating means, for example, a portable game machine.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the above described problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a game device, an expansion and contraction method for a game, a game program and an information storage medium, that are capable of establishing regions freely by expansion or contraction of various regions relating to a game with a simple operation.